Animal Camouflage

Summary
Activity A gives the children an opportunity to describe in their own words the way in which the different animals use camouflage and Activity B is a creative exercise designed to make them more aware of the advantages of using this method.

Objectives
• The children will understand and be able to explain why animals need to use camouflage.

• The children will be able to describe methods used by animals in general, and the octopus in particular, to camouflage themselves.

Suggested Grades
2nd Grade
3rd Grade
4th Grade

Excerpt
Camouflage means to disguise or hide and animals have many different ways to camouflage themselves:
Decorator crabs attach anemones, coral and anything else they can find, to their shells. Other animals use the color, shape or pattern on their bodies to blend into the background where they are not easily seen. Some insects, like the stick insects, look exactly like the leaves or branches they sit on, for example, and a Zebra?s stripes make it difficult for predators to pick out individual animals to chase. Still others change their color.

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